Joey Barton is poison, so why are we giving him the time of day?

Joey Barton is a footballer. He’s also a convicted criminal, an alleged sexist and, most recently, a published author. With all that information to his name it’s no wonder that he’s received a lot of attention in the media over the years, but something odd has stemmed from all the news articles and the TV reports – fame. Fame that he doesn’t deserve.

He’s had a career blighted by a niggling brain injury

Mark Lawrenson

After making his professional debut with Manchester City back in 2002, Barton was tipped from the start to be a solid midfielder for years to come. He developed well, early on in his City career, but the real headline grabbing moments were yet to come.

In May 2008 he was sentenced to six months imprisonment for common assault and affray due to an incident in Liverpool City Centre. Of course, being that he is indeed a professional footballer, he only served 77 days of the term before he was released and given a further four-month suspended sentence for a training ground dispute involving former teammate Ousmane Dabo.

He’s also been charged with violent conduct three times by the FA, including a notable incident on the final day of the 2011/12 season when he was confronting everyone he could get his hands on. Oh, and did I forget to mention QPR’s Premier League future was at stake?

In the present day he is serving a suspension given to him by his club Rangers, in addition to being investigated for betting. But when he isn’t trying to be a poor man’s Duncan Ferguson you can find him parading around on Twitter acting as if he is better than all of us mere mortals, when in reality he may be the most despisable entity in the English game.

Keep repeating, ‘It’s embarrassing’ over and over. How has this not been flagged up pre-BS appointment? #duediligence

Joey Barton is a fool. Simple as that. When you break him down as a player, he was and still is a run-of-the-mill midfielder who was never able to excel in any side he played for. He has a decent work rate and can retain possession, but the key thing to remember is there’s dozens of other players up and down the country capable of doing that job at the same level.

During his time at City alone, he received 39 bookings and three red cards. That’s just for one club. He has been hovering from team to team attempting to find relevancy, with his longest stint in one place being up in Manchester and look how that ended for him.

He acts as if everything that comes out of his mouth is sacred. We don’t value your opinion over people who have been studying these topics for years, Joey. Nobody does. His book is going to be littered with false inspirations and attempts at retribution, but his recent mishaps have shown that he hasn’t changed. Not at his core.

He wants to be football’s biggest hardman and he wants to be the intellectual saviour of the masses. Through arrogance and controversy, he has wormed his way into a position where he is deemed important by some in today’s footballing landscape. There is just no credibility behind him, and people should stop shining the light on someone who thinks they are bigger than they actually are.
Joey Barton is not football royalty, he is football poison.

I'm a 22-year-old sports journalist covering football, MMA, NFL, WWE and more. I'm a Wolves fan, because for some reason I enjoy misery and heartache season after season.
Forever dreaming of a team of Steve Bulls.